A Kind Of Destiny
by trustno1-1987
Summary: Do you think it's true that everyone has a particular destiny, a path they are destined to follow? Bethany Montgomery is about to find hers, with help from the Doctor, Rose and Jack. NineRose. WIP
1. An Introduction

Title: A Kind Of Destiny.

Author: trustno1, aka trustno1987, aka me!

Spoilers: Jack.

Rating: Um, k+ at the moment, I can't vouch for later chapters though, since they haven't been written yet :-)

Pairing: Hints of Nine/Rose, more so as the story progresses.

Disclaimer: Surprisingly enough, the Doctor, Rose, Jack and the general idea of Doctor Who does not belong to me. This story, however, does, as do any original characters within it, so © Lindz Penney.

AN: This particular idea for a piece of fic came to me in the middle of a shift at work, and, of course, I had to write it down immediately – not the easiest thing to do on a factory floor with a tiny scrap of paper. This is a WIP, and while I haven't actually written much further than you are about to read, I at least know where it's going, so there shouldn't be any long waits. Hopefully. Also, this chapter and the next are possibly a little confusing as I'm introducing characters (original and established), and switching between points of view – bear with me, and all will be revealed…

* * *

All her life she had gazed at the billions of stars in rapture. The world fascinated her, every single tiny atom of it, but the sky, the galaxies, the Universe beyond, even more so. She would stare out of her window, or lay in her garden, imagining the thousands of worlds, beings cultures, that existed beyond the scope of their Hubble telescopes, their deep space probes.

The sky fascinated her; the immense beauty of sunrises, sunsets, weird and wonderful cloud formations and the entire night sky of stars, satellites, planets, galaxies and the breathtaking Aurora Borealis. She lived in constant respectful awe of the dangerous fury that nature unleashed from above – the tornadoes, hurricanes, lightning storms.

She remained adamant that there was something out, and that soon they or it would make their or its presence known. And she hoped and prayed that she was somehow destined to experience it, and if not, that she would at least be around to bear witness to history in the making.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

The first time he saw the stars properly was on his parents star ship when it was docked for repairs. Before then, he had only seen them from his window through a haze of clouds, which dulled the bright majesty of anything in the sky, from stars, to satellites, and planets to galaxies. But on the star ship, on the observation deck, with its enormous windows and panoramic view, space went on forever. Stars were the brightest things he had ever seen in his life, contrasting with the darkest black like nothing he had seen and far brighter than the pictures and holograms he had seen – and they filled the sky to bursting point. The satellites were colossal to his small eyes; colourful, tranquil and practically deserted.

It was there, standing on a ship's observation deck and feeling as though he was the only person in the system – no, the Universe – that he vowed he would follow in his parents footsteps and escape from the overcrowded planet below them to explore the vast beauty that was Space.

Even after so many years, the child-like awe and fascination crept up on his each time he looked out of the window onto the Universe that was his back garden.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Once, he had looked to the sky and seen the far off stars and planets, and thought how great it would be to be able to send all the unwanted people in the planet to a far off world. Throughout the first years of his life, of which there were many, he listened to his elders and people high in society complain about lower classes, and those imprisoned or with nothing helpful or worthwhile to contribute, and wondered why they had never thought to just send them away. Send them off into the stars, he thought, to find their own planet.

Now, he was one of those elders, and it was only a matter of time before he could fulfil his lifelong wish to rid the planet of all the unwanted, unneeded peoples, leaving only those who were worthy of such a marvellous planet.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

From inside the confines of his tiny hut, he had watched day merge into night, and stars and planets materialize before him. They had seemed so far away from his reach then, all the tiny, twinkling spots in the sky, and the colourful spheres that were planets. As far from his grasp as a different life, one in which he mattered, and made a difference to those around him. He wanted to expand his horizons and reach the stars.

His people expanded their horizons at first contact with an alien race, and the stars and planets grew that tiny bit closer for him. Over the years he rose through society and the traditional boundaries set, and his horizons expanded even further, until, now, he felt as though he were standing on the top of the world, higher than he'd ever been to the stars that had shown him there was more out there, further than ever from the tiny hut where he was brought into the world.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

He had spent a lifetime in the stars, on exotic worlds with exotic races, always rushing from one place to another, one person to another. He attributed it to his father, taking him all over Earth and the Solar System, giving him a small taste of a Time Agent's life. He had spent the first part of his life watching space cadets, explorers, captains and Time Agents returning home to people doting on them, hanging off their every word. He wanted to be that person that everyone looked up to.

He followed his father as far as possible, then broke off and followed his own footsteps around the Universe. He rushed from place to place, loving hundreds of species, thousands even, but never being in love with anything except the attention. He relished danger – it made his stories far more exciting, attracted far more people.

Every so often he would stop for a second, thinking there was something missing, but it wasn't long before there was something else to jump in the middle of, someone else to con, someone to regale with stories of his daring, and he forgot all about that small second.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Whenever she took the time to look at the stars properly, she realised there was something missing in her normal, average life. She went to school, had boyfriends, was single, went to work, had boyfriends. She had her mum and family. She was happy in her existence, happy with her life. Until she cast her eyes upwards at night when she sat alone on the roof and saw the billions of tiny stars, the millions of planets that could be out there, waiting to be explored. She knew there was something missing, that her life was boring, and that she was missing out on something fantastic.

She appreciated all that was around her, the beauty that the world showed to those who gave a moment to stop and look, but that was all there was. A moment. Before she was swept back into the normalcy of her life, and bright lights of the city replaced those of the stars.

0 0 0 0 0 0 0

He had seen the birth of stars, and he had seen the death of stars. Lots of death. Sometimes he'd think it followed him wherever he went, no matter the species, planet, solar system or galaxy. Sometimes all he could see was death, an emptiness in space and in him.

Other times, he thought he followed death, trying to keep up with it so as to stop Him taking too many souls. He preferred this version of events personally, but even so it was relentless and constant – he was always on the move, never still. You couldn't be, when there were so many that needed saving, or might need saving in whatever way you could be. Some of his companions were like that in a way. They didn't realise they needed saving until he showed up and showed off, and took them to places they hadn't even dreamed existed.

And sometimes he needed saving, whether it be literally, metaphorically or spiritually, and he only seemed to realise it when he had a companion or two on board. Someone to show the wonders of the Universe to, to show them and himself there wasn't just death and destruction and evil all the time.

Despite having seen the births and deaths and life spans of more stars than he could begin to count, he never tired of seeing their quiet beauty, or the happiness and contentment he felt at watching a person's face light up as he showed them just how fantastic the Universe could be.

* * *

Okay, so that's the cryptic opening chapter - what does everyone think? Any reviews and contructive criticism welcomed :-) 


	2. Area 51

Title: A Kind Of Destiny

Author: trustno1, aka trustno1987, aka me!

Spoilers: Jack

Rating: Still K+

Pairing: Nine/Rose (just not immediately)

Disclaimer: Surprisingly enough, the Doctor, Rose, Jack and the general idea of Doctor Who does not belong to me. This story, however, does, as do any original characters within it, so © Lindsay.

AN: I'm off to London 'till Tuesday (yay!), so I thought I'd better post this next chapter for y'all – the next chapter (2) should be completed and online when I get back. :-) Also, this jumps about a little, from different people's perspectives - again, it should only be for this chapter, as I'm introducing characters - sorry if it's a little confusing! Oh, and where there is 'II' between paragraphs it means a change in scene, and 00 means a different person's perspective. Ok, now I'm done, you can actually read the fic now!

CHAPTER 1 – Area 51

"Senator, we are making excellent progress with regards to the Treaty. I am now at the Space Station at the edge of their system for the final negotiations regarding technological advances. If you would like to send a copy of your latest report, Sir…" The holographic projection standing imposingly in the centre of the dimly lit room flickered slightly, then nodded.

"I'll send you the updated report, Zoch. It isn't too different, just one or two minor alterations we deemed necessary to ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible – it won't affect your work."

"Of course, Sir," came the crisp reply that may have hidden a hint of disapproval.

"I expect another update in one pfase. Senator Jovik out." The hologram sputtered and dissolved into a small pinprick of light before disappearing completely. Only then did the cloaked figure pull out a small black device, into which it spoke a couple of strange syllables. Another hologram, far smaller than the previous, emerged from the top, flickering intermittently.

"Proceed to part two, Devos. Zoch out." Without waiting for a reply, the hologram was terminated, and the room plunged into further darkness.

Almost 200 light years away, five large, hooded beings huddled in a dank, dark chamber. One concealed a small black device inside the layers of robes it wore and turned to the others with a look of ecstasy.

"Finally, it is time."

II

Bethany Montgomery lay on top of her black SUV with a bottle of Pepsi (with a delicate dash of vodka laced in it) in her hand, staring at the ever-darkening sky above Nevada. She had been lying there since the red-purple haze of dusk descended some twenty minutes ago, and was now listening to the soft music of the desert combined with strains of country music currently playing on the radio. As the darkening blue of night began to eradicate all light from above her, save that of the billions of stars and a handful of planets, she swigged the last few drops and swung her legs over the side of the vehicle. Bracing herself to jump, she paused as she heard a wind picking up just in front and to the left of her; a sound that grew steadily louder, sounding less like any wind she had ever heard, but nonetheless feeling like a stiff desert breeze. She stared ahead, head cocked like a puppy, until a sight beheld her that had her wondering exactly how much vodka she had put into the fizzy beverage.

For in front of her, in the middle of the Nevada desert – rather close to Area 51 no less – had appeared a large, blue 1950's British Police Call Box.

00

After checking the computer to ensure they had arrived where he'd told the TARDIS to arrive, he took Rose's hand (something that they seemed to do unconsciously now) and let himself be let out after her and Jack. They were met with a warm Nevada dusk, calm and clear and quiet except for Jack and Rose talking.

00

If the large blue box wasn't bizarre enough, the door opened and three people walked out, mid-conversation, two of them talking simultaneously:

"I can't believe I'm actually gonna see the site of the Inter-Galactic Headquarters!"

"Oh, jeez, Doctor, you can't manage to land during the day for once?"

The first voice, American, belonged to a tall, conventionally handsome (but handsome all the same) man wearing jeans, a plain t-shirt and cowboy boots that looked very new. The second voice, a London accent, belonged to a smaller girl, around the same age as Bethany, who also wore jeans and a top, but with comfortable sneakers as opposed to boots. As she stepped out of the Police Box she dragged with her a man taller than the first, with large ears that she thought looked surprisingly cute, and wearing a faded leather jacket, black trousers and boots.

"They still call it 'Area 51', Jack, and it really isn't that interesting. And Rose, it's only just dark; at least I parked us in the right place," the taller man, apparently a Doctor of something, said with a Northern British accent, surveying their surroundings with a satisfied smile. Which fell as he turned and saw Bethany looking at them inquisitively. "Ah." The other two followed his line of sight and also froze slightly, much to the amusement of Bethany. "Um, I don't suppose there's any point in asking if you didn't see that, is there?" the Doctor-of-something asked her.

00

The Doctor half-heartedly corrected and chastised the two of them whilst making a cursory sweep of their surroundings – even in the middle of the desert he could manage to find trouble. So far so good – dusty orange-brown soil met the darkening sky where the first few stars were beginning to appear, and to the left of them a faint haze of light over a small mound lit from behind the young woman sitting atop an SUV… He stopped mid-sentence, tugging Rose around to his point of view and sensing her and Jack tense up considerably – the last time they had accidentally materialised in front of someone, it hadn't gone down too well. Since neither of his companions seemed to be particularly forthcoming in the vocal department, he went and asked one of the stupidest questions he had for a long time.

00

Bethany raised a sarcastic eyebrow at the strange group.

"No shit I saw it." She jumped off the truck now, worn leather cowboy boots kicking up the dry dirt on the highway as she landed and began walking steadily towards them. To her further amusement, they seemed speechless, though she couldn't quite understand why – she supposed it was the case of role reversal that they might not have been used to.

"Next time you _don't_ see three people walk out of a big blue Police Public Call Box from 1950's Britain, that _didn't_ just materialise in the middle of the Nevada desert, tell me if you didn't see it." She stopped in front of the American, apparently called Jack, and smiled politely at him.

"You're British," he said with a hint of surprise. Bethany supposed it was the shock of realising someone had seen them, when they obviously weren't used to being seen, that had caused him to come out with this less-than-intelligent comment. She took a breath then sighed theatrically, putting on a regretful, 'you caught me' look.

"No pulling the wool over your eyes is there? Was it the accent that gave me away?" she asked with fake disappointment and a hint of sarcasm that the girl evidently caught on to, as she gave a small chuckle. Deciding to try her luck with her – Rose, she thought the Doctor-of-something had said – she extended her right hand. The blonde took it in her free hand, smiling as she did so.

"I'm Bethany Montgomery," she said politely.

"Rose Tyler," the girl said, then inclined her head to the man to side of her, currently holding her left hand and smiling. "This is the Doctor, and this is…"

"Captain Jack Harkness," the American said with a wide, Hollywood grin, taking her hand and kissing it gallantly, evidently sufficiently recovered. Bethany raised her eyebrow again and turned her head to Rose, whispering conspiratorially to her, but loud enough for Jack to hear her.

"Y'know, I haven't been hit on that quickly since the very drunk cowboy in the country bar I stumbled into just outside of Tulsa." Rose and the Doctor-of-something laughed, but Jack wasn't fazed by her immediate knowledge of him and his intentions. He put on a mock affronted look.

"And how do you know I wasn't just being a gentleman?" From the poorly concealed chuckles from the other two, Bethany supposed they didn't think he was being a gentleman at all, and neither did she. Not that he wasn't rather sweet all the same.

"Sure – gentleman. That was gentleman, with a hint of 'I'm available, how about it?'" Bethany retorted to the laughs of all three of them. Deciding she had shut him up for the moment, she turned back to Rose, her mind full of questions again.

00

The Doctor wasn't used to being so quiet when he'd just met someone, and he guessed Rose hadn't seen him be since she'd met him, though she (and this new girl too, incidentally) was handling things perfectly well – he knew she was missing her girlfriends back home, and having someone her own age and so similar to Rose was evidently just what she needed.

He was so quiet partly because he hadn't received such a good response from a human who had just witnessed a large blue Police Box materialise in front of them since he'd met Rose, or indeed most times before that, and he was frankly quite shocked. Sitting on top of her SUV, she'd had her head cocked to one side, a frown creasing her forehead, and looked almost as one would if they were presented with a particularly trying mind puzzle, as opposed to an alien and two humans emerging from a blue box. And her sarcastic comeback to being hit-on immediately by Jack was definitely impressive, eliciting smothered laughs from both him and Rose, though Jack didn't seem too put out in the least.

Also, he was busy studying her. Her dark brown eyes shone with excitement as they flittered from one person to another, but he saw something else as Jack introduced himself, in both her eyes and stance. For a moment she appeared to draw into herself, before squaring her shoulders defensively and issuing the amusing comeback, that he was certain was self-protection first, and humor second.

00

"So, what are you then? Are you aliens or something?" Bethany asked, feeling excitement bubbling in her stomach, completely covering anything that could be constituted as fear, or even nervousness. As someone who was very open-minded, she believed in pretty much anything, especially if it appeared in front of her eyes. Not that she was a complete conspiracy buff, or belonged to weird cults that thought aliens were about to take over the human race; she just had a healthy appreciation for the paranormal, and believed that humans were most certainly not alone in the Universe, or even the Galaxy.

"I'm not, he's not," here she pointed to Jack. "He is," she tugged on the Doctor's hand. He nudged her slightly, a small frown on his face. "What? You are! And you just put the TARDIS down in front of her, I think she can know you're an alien – she doesn't seem to disturbed by it either."

"What's a TARDIS? Is it like a transporter or something? Have you got a ship somewhere?" Bethany reeled off, before stopping herself, realising she had gotten a little carried away. Rose didn't seem to mind however, and started answering her questions eagerly.

"This is a TARDIS. It's an acronym, stands for Time And Relative Dimension In Space…"

"A time machine!" Bethany interrupted excitedly, grinning widely.

"Yeah, kind of, it travels through time, but this is the ship, believe it or not…" Rose continued, not seeming to mind Bethany's interruption.

"Excuse me ladies, but am I going to get a word in edgeways here, since it's my ship you're talking about?" the Doctor-of-something asked good humouredly. Rose smiled at him, which Bethany supposed meant 'carry on'. She didn't let him however, and began talking again.

"So what are you doing here? I mean it's the middle of no-where. You said something about Area 51, but you aren't exactly going to see much, except a chain link fence, which, incidentally is about two miles that way," she pointed in front of her. "Only thing around here is this crappy motel," she pointed over her shoulder now, at a dark building that only the Doctor had seen due to a marked absence of lights. Any lights were at the front of the motel, and since they were viewing it from behind, they were almost hidden from sight.

The Doctor person looked a little put out at this knowledge, as did Jack, but Rose just grinned smugly.

"Perfect landing my arse," she said, and received a poke for her troubles.

"It was – you didn't fall over this time did you? And we aren't that far away from it, really," he replied, glancing around.

"So, where are you from then? When are you from? I mean, seeing as how you have a time machine type thing and all," Bethany asked looking at each of them in turn, trying to guess the answers.

"I'm from London," Rose said, jumping in before either of the other two had a chance to speak. Bethany supposed she didn't usually get to lead the conversations, and was making the most of it. "Not in the future or anything, from your time." She seemed to think about this for a moment before turning to the Doctor-of-something. "This is my time, isn't it? Or did you get that wrong too?" He frowned at her, though Bethany wasn't completely sure if it was directed at Rose or whether he was actually thinking about it.

"It said this was October 2006 on the monitors, but it also said we were right next to Area 51."

"And you said I was a crap pilot," Jack interrupted, and Rose grinned.

"You are, and I think I need to do some more tweaking," the Doctor-of-something retorted, before turning back to Bethany, who was waiting patiently with an amused smile on her face. "What year is it please?"

"It's October, so your ship thing got that right, but you're three years out – it's 2009." While the Doctor-of-something appeared to be puzzling over this, Rose leaned closer to Bethany.

"He does it all the time – once, we were supposed to be going to Christmas in Naples, 1860. We actually ended up in Cardiff, 1869. Was still Christmas though, so he got two out of three," she grinned, and Bethany found herself liking Rose even more.

00

In truth, they were far away, especially when the TARDIS had told him they had not only landed near Area 51, but almost on top of the compound. Normally he wouldn't be overly worried, but the wrong date had been shown again, and there was nothing on the monitors to suggest that Bethany was even there. This had happened to them a few times in the last year or so, and each time there was a specific reason for the TARDIS landing where she did.

The Doctor looked at the young woman more intently, and felt the strangest feeling that he knew her – it was similar to the feeling he got when he first met Harriet Jones, then MP for Flydale North, now PM for Britain. As he studied Bethany he saw her eager thirst for knowledge and confident attitude. Her honest face that held eyes captivated with an almost child-like awe was framed by dark, shoulder length hair of unruly curls and seemed as familiar to him as her attitude. Yet behind the confident exterior, and if he looked properly into her deep brown eyes, he saw a scared child that still lurked, hidden by straight backed postures and sarcastic wit, and still desperate to prove herself. This too, struck a strangely resonant chord within him.

It was with this thought that he began to realise where he knew her from, and why he didn't immediately catch on with her name – unfortunately, he only usually managed to fully rid his memory of the inconvenient haze towards the end of meeting someone, which didn't help too much in preparing him. He also knew he would be inviting her on board the TARDIS, and had the sneaking suspicion that Rose (and Jack) wouldn't mind another companion in the slightest.

00

Bethany was just about to ask about where the others came from, when she noticed the Doctor-of-something studying her, and not at all discretely.

"You said your name was Bethany Montgomery?" the Doctor-of-something asked, scrutinising her intently. Feeling slightly uncomfortable under his intense blue eyes, she nodded but maintained eye contact with him, squaring her shoulders slightly. A range of emotions flittered across his eyes, and for a moment Beth wondered if he was telepathic, or possessed some alien sense that allowed him to see into her mind – he was certainly studying her hard enough. A feeling of unease swept over her at that thought, but other than feeling slightly uncomfortable under this stranger's gaze, she felt nothing that would support her fears that she was being mentally invaded. Although, she mused, it isn't every day you meet an alien, so who knows whether having your mind read felt strange. However, Beth reasoned, Rose seemed a very nice person, and she didn't think she'd let some alien read her mind or anything. She hoped.

After the longest ten seconds of her life, Bethany thought she saw something in the Doctor-of-something's eyes, as though he recognised her, but in a split second it was gone, and she put it down to the quickly fading desert light, as he gave a satisfied nod and smiled widely at her.

"Well, I think I'd better check the navigational controls out, see if there's a reason the old girl brought us here, or if she needs fixing." Rose and Jack looked as though they were about to protest to him, and Bethany felt a familiar sinking disappointment in her stomach at the thought that these incredibly interesting people were about to disappear from her life as unexpectedly and suddenly as they'd appeared. "Want to give Beth here a tour of the TARDIS, Rose? I did materialise in front of her after all, and she seemed to handle that better than most people would've."

Beth watched Rose squeeze the Doctor-of-something's hand and give him a half hug before practically bounding over to where she was standing next to Jack, grinning widely and attempting not to look too eager.

"Bethany, if you thought us materialising was impressive, wait till you see this…" she said enthusiastically, heading to the Police Box. Beth followed behind her, with the two men bringing up the rear. She supposed they were going to be transported to their ship, which hopefully wouldn't take long – it looked an awfully tight squeeze in there.

00

The Doctor decided it would be best not to tell Bethany exactly why he was inviting her aboard until it was absolutely necessary, but he'd tell Rose a little later – he always needed a human perspective on such matters, and Rose's was the best, in his opinion. It wasn't as though he thought she wouldn't be able to cope with it – quite the opposite, if her behaviour thus far was an accurate indication – he just realised that Rose was going to strike a much closer friendship with this young woman that he would, and coming from her would be easier and more appropriate, especially considering the circumstances.

II

Captain Adish Harva stared out of the port side windows at the vastness that was space and mulled over his meeting with Ambassador Zoch. He was pleased with the progress that they were making with regards to the Treaty between their two races, and after speaking briefly with the Ambassador's Senator on his home planet, he was confident that trading could begin within a few days. He also hoped to send a few of his crew on a mission to the Senator's home planet – in fact, it had been so long since they had been on a proper away mission, advancing their knowledge of other cultures in the galaxy as opposed to sending deep space probes to analyse far off planets that would never be suitable for them to occupy, that he may even go down himself. He loved his job – not that he ever really thought of it as a job, more a calling – and he loved his ship and crew, but when a fantastic opportunity to explore came along, he wasn't going to pass it up.

But there was something that had been troubling the Captain, making him wish the Senator had managed to make the trip to his ship himself, instead of sending over a representative. Of all the sufficiently intelligent life forms he had encountered during his life (and some not quite so intelligent), Zoch was definitely one of the most resistant he had ever met. It always troubled him when he had to rely on far more primitive means to ascertain the characteristics of a new species, and he definitely wasn't able to sense anything about this individual other than vague feelings of apathy and a hazy brightness, much like the atmosphere of the planet he spent most of his young life trying to escape from.

However, this was only one individual out of an entire race, and the security officers that accompanied Ambassador Zoch were not as difficult to penetrate, though there remained some resistance. He sighed, and made his way to a comfortable chair, collapsing into it gratefully. He knew he couldn't continue to act paranoid about something that may not even be there; it wouldn't do the Treaty any good, and frankly it was a bad example to set, if he jumped to conclusions. No, he'd try and understand them through the more primitive methods if he had to, and just be cautious of how much trust he allowed himself to give this new race, with whom they would share more than just a section of the galaxy.

END CHAPTER 1


	3. Looks Can Be Deceiving

Title: A Kind Of Destiny

Author: trustno1, aka trustno1987, aka me!

Spoilers: Jack

Rating: Still K+

Pairing: Nine/Rose (just not immediately)

Disclaimer: Surprisingly enough, the Doctor, Rose, Jack and the general idea of Doctor Who does not belong to me. This story, however, does, as do any original characters within it, so © Lindsay.

CHAPTER 2 – Looks Can Be Deceiving

Beth walked through the double doors behind Rose, expecting to be crammed into something resembling a very small elevator. What she saw was certainly not elevator-sized. She stood stock still, just inside the doorway, causing the Doctor (she still didn't know what of, she'd have to ask that later, she thought absently) and Jack to squeeze around her and join Rose. After the initial shock of finding out there was a whole lot more to the 'little' blue Police Box, her brain scrambled into overdrive, attempting to explain the fact that the inside was significantly larger than the outside. She shut it up after less than a second. She wasn't even going to attempt to understand this one – her brain would probably explode. So, as she usually did with anything that was beyond her understanding or control, she just accepted it.

"The, er, initial size is a bit deceptive, eh?" Beth said mildly, casting her eyes over the strange, round room with a huge column protruding from the floor in the centre and surrounded by various wires, levers, buttons and screens. She guessed that that must be a cockpit of some kind. Though it wasn't exactly like anything she'd ever seen in Star Trek. Her eyes swept back to the trio, where Rose and the Doctor person had sort of gravitated towards one another again, and Jack was leaning against a metal (looking) support. All three were grinning at her. "Y'know, I had a flat like this once… kinda. It also looked like a closet from the outside – " She began to make her way up some steps towards them, her tone of voice informative, small frown on her forehead. " – it was only when you got inside, that you realised it was actually a shoebox," she finished, quite contemplatively.

The Doctor burst out laughing at this remarkable young woman, and the others weren't close behind. Beth began chuckling too, when she saw they actually thought she was funny. Clapping his hands together, he motioned for Jack to join him.

"Ok, we're gonna see if we can't fix the old girl, and why don't you show Beth round?" Rose nodded, and motioned her head towards the far side of the room, where Beth could now see a doorway.

"Sure thing – how long are you gonna be?" Rose asked as she led the two of them across the room.

"Half an hour? Not that it matters; I know what human women are like – you'll start talking, and be gabbing away for hours, completely forgetting about us! You're awful at keeping time." Jack muttered something that sounded like 'here here', and Rose shot them a stern frown.

"Like you're any better; and anyway – we're on a time machine!" Rose retorted as the exited the room, so Beth didn't hear whether the Doctor or Jack had responded or not.

II

"You know," Rose began as they walked through a labyrinth of dark corridors. "Are you sure you haven't been in a ship like this before? Only you seem to be taking it remarkably well. First time I ran in here – and I mean ran, we were being pursued by living plastic – " Before Beth had time to question this, Rose had continued on, and she decided she'd have to remember that one. " – I ran straight back out again. No word, nothing, just turned around and ran out!" She laughed pleasantly at the memory, and Beth found herself laughing with her, feeling as though she'd known her forever.

"No, I haven't, believe me. I just have a knack I suppose. If something's too confusing, or impossible to understand at all, or out of my control, I just say, 'ok brain, these are the basic facts; accept them, or you're likely to suffer a core meltdown.'" Rose laughed again, and Beth smiled. It had been such a long time since she had been with friends, and longer than she could remember since she'd actually made people laugh without embarrassing herself in the process, and she'd almost forgotten how good it felt. "It's like if you try and think how big the Universe is. It doesn't happen, not to us humans anyhow. So you just sorta say – 'Universe goes on forever? – okay'; or 'there's a reason behind algebraic fractions and equations? – fine by me'."

"So that's what you did, when you saw us turn up, and when you saw the inside of the TARDIS?" Rose asked as they turned a corner.

"Well, when you turned up, I was more excited than anything else, so I barely had time to think that, but yeah, I definitely did when I came inside – 'the inside is far bigger than it should be – why not! Go with the flow!'" Rose laughed again as she pushed open a door, flooding the corridor with light. Beth just managed to gasp 'wow'. Rose watched her eyes light up in disbelief and excitement, and knew why the Doctor loved showing her new worlds and different times so much.

"Welcome to the astronomy room, Beth."

II

"Is this gonna make Rose insanely jealous, and hopefully push her towards me?" Jack asked after almost five minutes of relative silence whilst the Doctor prodded wires and made blue sparks jump out from alien panels. He now halted, and poked his head out from a bundle of wires to look at Jack, a confused frown on his features.

"What?"

"You inviting that lovely young woman on board. I mean, personally I don't mind how many people you invite – the more the merrier in my opinion," he said suggestively. The Doctor rolled his eyes and resumed fiddling, even though he had determined that the navigation was working perfectly fine, and the TARDIS simply didn't want to tell him where and why they had landed. Not just yet.

"And why would asking Bethany in – and asking Rose to give her a tour, I'll remind you – make Rose jealous? She's usually the one picking up every stray we come across." He shot Jack a pointed glance then, indicating he was one of said strays.

"Yes, but all her 'strays', as you so nicely put it –"

"Thanks."

" – are all men – "

"Pretty boys, stupid apes, fly-boys."

" – and are more likely to make **you** jealous," Jack finished eventually. The Doctor glanced innocently at him.

"Why would I be jealous?" Jack made a rude noise and stalked around to where the Doctor was examining another monitor.

"I know – at least I hope – you aren't that stupid. Or was that very obvious glare you gave me when I came aboard my imagination?" The Doctor moved around to another monitor, trying to ignore Jack and failing miserably. He knew he would not let this one go. So, as usual, he pretended ignorance in the hopes he might eventually get bored and leave the uncomfortable subject alone. "Y'know the one I mean, when you and Rose were 'dancing' around the console. That was a 'keep off' look if ever I saw one."

"Is there a point to this?" the Doctor asked, exasperated.

"There's a reason you asked Bethany on board, isn't there? And it isn't because Rose misses girlfriends, 'cos you probably wouldn't notice that anyway; it isn't because you like her, 'cos I know you wouldn't do that to Rose – " the Doctor decided to ignore the implications of that comment for the moment. " – and it isn't because she saw the TARDIS," Jack said, his voice rising steadily with each point that he ticked off on his fingers as he stood in front of the Doctor. Who now sighed, trying to figure out what to say that would make Jack back off, but wouldn't give away too much information – not that he knew a great deal at the moment anyway.

"The TARDIS landed there for a reason; it's happened before. Kind of. But until I figure out exactly why she did it, I want to keep an eye on Beth." He kept his eyes on Jack, challenging him to disagree, and continue interrogating him, whilst praying his roundabout half-truth would actually work.

Jack returned the stare, but didn't see anything in the Time Lords eyes to suggest this wasn't true, and though he didn't believe that was the whole truth, he knew it was all he was going to get, so, admitting defeat, he headed towards the couch.

"So, what next?" He asked eventually, beginning to get bored of watching the Doctor pushing buttons and staring at monitors. As he cast his gaze upwards to him, Jack could have sworn he saw uncertainty in the Time Lord's blue eyes, but he blinked and it was gone.

"Thought I'd take the TARDIS for a spin, see where we end up," he replied conversationally, some of his usual excitement creeping back into his voice.

"Well, I'm never one to pass up an adventure, so let me know when we're off." He began towards the door intending to go back to his room and do some work of his own for a while, but the Doctor halted him.

"Actually, I thought we'd go now – no time like the present, eh? Go find Rose and Beth would you?" Jack shrugged as a reply and set off down the corridor, leaving the Doctor alone in the control room, mulling over everything Jack had said, and what to do next.

II

Senator Jovik sat alone in his office, lights dimmed just the way he liked them, so he could just about make out some of the stars above the haze of the city.

He had just sent an updated report to Ambassador Zoch, currently stationed on Captain Harva's Space Station, and now leant back in his chair for a well-earned rest. The last few weeks had been particularly stressful for him, even for someone used to the stresses of running a planet, and having the burden of having an entire civilisation resting upon him and his decisions. He had spent a lifetime clawing his way through society to this position, and hardly any of it had been plain sailing. Especially the last few months, after contact with the new race, and the time leading up to the signing of the Peaceful Relations Treaty. Some of his Ambassadors from around the planet – those that had already demonstrated their differing opinions to the majority of his Senate – had been acting particularly hostile and unco-operative, even threatening resignation.

And then, quite suddenly considering these were politicians after all, they settled down, agreeing wholeheartedly with proposals, behaving gallantly to people they had previously looked down on in disgust, and participating with other groups of Ambassadors, where before they had remained in their own section. All in all, a remarkable breakthrough – if the Senate were no longer so divided in opinions over the lower classes, this set a wonderful example to the rest of those in society who still held old fashioned views.

The Senator didn't like it one bit. He had spent most of his time as Senator delivering speeches to Ambassadors about the importance of his decisions, the importance of a world that was as united as possible in the fight against the upper and lower class divide. And all of a sudden they decide now is the time to change their ways, and cease to cause the Senator trouble over division within the Senate. If he were a weaker minded man, one far more trusting than he was, he would have accepted this behaviour, probably gratefully, and believed it was through dozens upon dozens of speeches that he had managed to convert them. Jovik was not that man. He had come a long way through society, more than most, and he had learnt early on not to trust initial appearances, and always keep your guard up. Now, more than ever, was the time to keep his guard up, and not to believe that those who had previously shunned him because of his background had suddenly warmed to him.

He would keep a discrete eye on them, as he had done for many years without them realising it – they didn't regard him very highly in that respect, which was perfectly fine for him; he liked an element of surprise. The change of behaviour was certainly unsettling, and he decided he would tighten the leash around them as it were. Unfortunately, dismissal wouldn't be an option – it would arouse far too much suspicion within his people, and most likely provoke a riot; plus, many of the rebellious Ambassadors were highly skilled and valuable in other areas, and such a dismissal would be foolish to do.

As he called in the head of his Secret Security force and receive and update on the situation, he still hadn't realised the grave mistake he had made in judging a certain Ambassador's character, and the serious repercussions this would have.

II

For the third time in less than an hour, Beth was at a complete loss for words, unable of coherent thought, and unable to move. After Rose had practically dragged her out of the astronomy room with the promise she would return and show in detail where they had travelled to, she'd taken her to the gardens that she had recently discovered, but they were now standing in the largest music room Beth had ever seen. She thought there must be every instrument known to man in that room, including a gorgeous, black grand piano, and she was sure there were some she had never seen before. Trying to breathe calmly, and not jump up and down in the undignified way that she really wanted to, she settled for grinning inanely around the room. Rose stood beside her, taking in her reactions as she had done for the past few rooms they had seen, and loving every minute of it. Travelling through time and space was absolutely fantastic, but being able to show someone else just how amazing it was, somehow made the experience even more worthwhile. She supposed it was because she hadn't had the greatest encouragement from her mum and Mickey that she was dying to show everyone she met why she faithfully followed the Doctor, and loved every minute of it. And Beth was the perfect person to show off her new life to. Adam was okay to begin with, but he was a bit of a know-it-all, and ultimately very stupid, and didn't respond nearly as well to Rose's tour as Beth was doing. And Jack, being from the 51st Century, wasn't the best person to show off to either, with space and time knowledge.

Rose was brought out of her daydream when Beth tapped her arm lightly.

"D'ya think the Doctor would mind if I played?" she asked, quite timidly in Rose's opinion, inclining her head towards the piano. She shrugged and smiled reassuringly.

"Don't see why not – probably hasn't been played in years knowing the Doctor." Beth grinned and hurried over, sitting down and gazing at the keys as if she had never seen anything like it before.

"What's the Doctor a doctor of, anyway? You keep calling him 'Doctor', but is he like a medical doctor or is it some weird alien name?" she enquired, not quite wanting to start playing just yet for some reason.

"He's just The Doctor. A Doctor of life – not of anything specific – at least not in the human sense of being a medical doctor or anything. He kind of knows everything really – which can be pretty irritating at times, believe me," Rose added with a roll of her eyes and a long suffering smile.

Beth nodded and turned her attention back to the piano. Gingerly, she pressed a few of the shining white keys, testing the tone, and feeling rather out of practice. A slow melody began to play itself through her fingers, one she hadn't played for a long while, and an almost overwhelming sense of nostalgia swept over her. Pushing it away, she continued playing, gradually gaining more confidence on the instrument, and began to lose herself to the music, as she so often used to do.

Rose watched her newfound friend as she played a hauntingly beautiful melody on the grand piano, fingers flying deftly over the smooth keys, body swaying ever so slightly as she kept in time. Her brown eyes clouded over with intense emotions as the music rose and fell, and Rose realised there was a lot more to this young woman than any of them had probably first thought. As the tune reached a climax, she suddenly ceased playing, staring at the keyboard in embarrassment, with the air of someone who had given away too much information about themselves. Abruptly, she turned to Rose, forcing a smile.

"Sorry, I haven't played that one in a long time; I don't remember any further." Rose nodded, not believing her, but not wishing to put her on the spot with something she was obviously uncomfortable with. Instead, she sat down to Beth's left on the piano stool and pressing a few of the keys absently.

"S'ok, the rest was beautiful though." Beth smiled properly this time, gratefully.

"Thanks. I haven't played properly for almost a year, since I left England. I didn't realise how much I missed it until now," she admitted, and Rose wasn't sure whether she was referring to the music or England.

"I played a little in secondary school – I only know a few songs though," Rose confessed, playing a chord progression. "Did you ever watch Top Gun?"

"Did I!" Beth said with a grin. "Tom Cruise in fighter pilot's uniform? And the volleyball scene? What girl would miss that!" Rose laughed, and played the chords a bit faster.

"One of my mates at school – she played the piano too – loved that film, and made me learn 'Great Balls of Fire' so we could play it together. I think I can still remember it." She glanced hopefully at Beth and was pleased to see her face light up in a happy grin.

"Wanna try? No-one around to hear us getting it wrong," Beth said eagerly, incredibly grateful to Rose for not questioning her about why she stopped so suddenly. She might tell her later – she felt remarkably close to her considering they had only just met – but right now she was very grateful for the distraction.

"Lets go; the Doctor can wait," Rose smiled. "Ready?…"

II

Fifteen minutes after the Doctor sent Jack to find Rose and Beth, he returned, slightly out of breath, looking apologetic and annoyed all at once.

"I can't find them anywhere – I've looked all over, and I think your ship keeps shifting the damn corridors around," Jack said irritably. He had searched corridors and rooms for what seemed like ages for those two, and was damned if he was gonna look anymore. If the Doctor wanted them that bad he could go find them himself in his opinion.

The Doctor sighed, leaving Jack sitting moodily on a couch, and set off into the TARDIS, silently begging her to be co-operative for a change.

He was about five minutes from the control room, just past Rose's room, when he heard giggling up ahead. Curious, he hurried up, and found the music room that he hadn't been in for years. Standing in the doorway he found the cause of the giggles – Rose and Beth were together at the grand piano, playing Great Balls Of Fire enthusiastically, and singing along (in between bouts of uncontrollable giggles) equally enthusiastically. Despite the fact that they frequently started singing different verses, resulting in another burst of delirious laughter that he found so endearing, they weren't half bad at singing, he thought. And they both looked so relaxed, at ease with each other, that for a moment he found himself wishing they didn't have a job to do, and that there wasn't a specific purpose for Beth being here.

In between the death defying adventures, he occasionally managed to take Rose somewhere where they weren't being pursued by hostile locals, or preventing a planet from being destroyed; somewhere he was able to let her appreciate the beauty of the Universe at a more sedate pace than running past it all, like they usually did. He had made he laugh like she was now with Beth – with almost childlike innocence and happiness; a beautiful sound in his ears that made his hearts beat that little bit faster when he heard it.

Which wasn't enough, he realised, with a frown. He didn't make her laugh like that nearly as often as he should do. Humans could be funny little things sometimes, he mused. He took her all through space and time to make her happy, which he did, he knew, but here they were, playing on a piano, singing old rock 'n' roll songs when they weren't laughing, and having the time of their lives. It was times like these that he realised how alien he was, not thinking that silly little human things could be all Rose needed when she was homesick, and not going to watch the birth of a star, or the lightening storms of space like he insisted on showing her.

The Doctor sighed and shifted his position against the door. No matter how much time he spent with humans, there was always something new he found out about them, and in cases like this, himself. He found himself deciding he was going to let Rose decide how they were going to have fun once in while, and if it was normal, boring human fun, then so be it, because if he could see that look on her face and hear the delirious laughter all the more, then it was worth it. It was quite amazing, when he thought about it, how much Rose had succeeded in changing his view on things (namely humans), whether she knew it or not – remarkable, really. And speaking of remarkable, he remembered he came here to take them back to the control room, not stand staring at them, so they could hopefully test his theory out.

Clearing his throat he strode up to the grand piano and leant on the side, next to where Rose was dissolving into another fit of giggles, and Beth was only just managing to keep playing.

"Not to interrupt your fun, but I'm gonna need you in the control room now. Honestly, I said to give her a tour of the TARDIS, not have a karaoke session," the Doctor said with a small smile, which grew into a grin as Rose looked up and smiled at him, leaning casually on his arm.

"Oh, lighten up, it's just a bit of fun," Rose retorted, giving him a small shove, knowing he didn't mean it maliciously. "Did you enjoy it?" At his questioning look, she rolled her eyes and got up from the stool, Beth following her lead. "You've been standing there for the last five minutes, so it can't have been that bad."

"Unless he's tone deaf," Beth said as they headed into the corridor. "You are an alien, so maybe that was like a opera or something," she added with a grin. The Doctor snorted and caught hold of Rose's hand, much to Beth's interest, although neither of them noticed.

"I've been to many operas, the best in 19th Century Italy in fact, and that was definitely not opera. It wasn't without its charms though," he added hastily, wisely deciding that not being on the best side of two women probably wasn't the cleverest thing to do.

They were just entering the control room when Beth remembered something she wanted to ask Rose, about the first time she entered the TARDIS.

"What was that thing you said earlier, about the living plastic?"

"Oh that! Well, that was when I first met the Doctor. I was in the basement where I worked, and all these plastic shops dummies sort of came to life, and were about to attack me, when in he comes –" she inclined her head towards the Doctor who was grinning at the memory. " – grabs my hand, and tells me to run! Then he went and blew up my work to try and kill them, or something,which didn't work –"

"Not my fault."

"So I had to help him find the hiding place of the Nestene Conscious – it controlled anything that was plastic y'see, made it come to life – coz he's completely useless on his own –"

"I would've found it on my own eventually."

"Then I saved his life when he was attacked by autons – they're the living plastic things – "

"That is true," he said quite fondly.

"And then he asked me to come with him, and here we are," she finished triumphantly, to a suitably awestruck Beth, who was thanking whatever power profusely for landing these people in front of her.

"Wow," she managed eventually, circling the controls to sit next to Jack, who was also looking quite impressed with the story. "I hope all this exciting stuff rubs off on me – the last interesting thing that happened to me was that I saw a bright yellow latrine by the side of the highway with 'el lobo malo' graffiti-ed on the side," she said with some disgust. Rose saw the Doctor perk up at this, and frowned enquiringly at him.

"It's Spanish, for Bad Wolf," he said quietly.

"Yeah," Beth said, apparently having sharper hearing than the Doctor thought. "People write the weirdest things sometimes. I wrote some of the best ones down actually," she continued conversationally, quite oblivious to the concerned glance shared between the Doctor and Rose.

END CHAPTER 2


	4. A Landing and A Plan

Title: A Kind Of Destiny

Author: trustno1, aka trustno1987, aka me!

Spoilers: Jack

Rating: Still K+

Pairing: Nine/Rose (just not immediately)

Disclaimer: Surprisingly enough, the Doctor, Rose, Jack and the general idea of Doctor Who does not belong to me. This story, however, does, as do any original characters within it, so © Lindsay.

CHAPTER3 - A LANDING AND A PLAN

Mahsa Kyanee, Head of Security for Captain Harva, strolled along the corridors near the guest quarters. One of the two security guards for the Ambassador of Zaarde was sitting in the empty guest observation room, staring at the endless view of stars. Despite having grown up in a civilization containing three other races from the stars, and a decent proportion of the crew coming from other planets in the system, she hadn't quite gotten used to the Apalka. Particularly the fact that they were so difficult to sense – no obvious emotions radiated from them, just a dull blankness, as if a wall had been erected around their emotions. As a security officer this was quite disconcerting, which was why she was keeping an extra close eye on their guests. This one security guard wasn't too bad, and made an attempt to communicate, especially when the others weren't around. Right now he gave her a friendly smile (at least, Mahsa thought it was a smile) and nodded to her. With him – Engyel, she thought his name was – she was able to sense some trust and friendliness. Only faintly, but still, it was more of a response than the other two. If only they were as accommodating, she mused, walking past the door to the Ambassador's quarters.

II

Inside the dimly lit, humid room, Zoch and his security guard were talking animatedly, casting furtive glances towards the door in case Engyel returned from his break.

"The final part of the Treaty signing is tomorrow," Zoch was saying, pacing restlessly up and down the length of the large, sparsely furnished room. "I have informed Prosolek that we will be proceeding to Part Two immediately…"

"Prosolek?" the guard interrupted, confused.

"Yes, Zadri," he said regretfully, not appearing to mind the interruption. "I decided a while ago that Devos is, alas, untrustworthy. I haven't disposed of him, however. He may be of use yet," he finished evilly.

"How long before the package will be delivered?" Zadri asked, but Zoch wasn't listening. He was staring intently at the door, as if attempting to see straight through it. His guard was about to ask if everything was alright, when the Ambassador strode over to his desk and began reading a proposal from the Senator. The reason behind this was revealed as the second guard, Engyel, entered the room. Giving Zadri a hard stare, he sat down in an empty seat to take his watch of the Ambassador.

"It's your break now, Zadri," he said, his eyes not leaving Zadri's until he left the room. Zoch observed this from behind his desk with great interest, and decided that whilst Devos might still be of use, this security guard most certainly couldn't be. With a nod to Engyel who was now checking the room again, he began to draft out how best to dispose of him, quickly and quietly.

II

The Doctor clapped his hands together, startling Rose and Beth, who had begun nattering again. He was eager to get going and put his theory into practice.

"Right, I just thought we'd slip into the Time Vortex and see where the TARDIS takes us…" he began, not giving Beth a great deal of warning, which was just how he liked it.

"Oh shit! Wait a minute! I need my bag, it's in the truck! Just… just hang on!" she cried, running for the door, flinging it open and sprinting across the desert.

The Doctor, clearly not expecting such an outburst, stood next to the controls, a perplexed look on his face. Rose was bad enough, but two human women to hold him up? Definitely too much. He sighed dramatically and began drumming his fingers against the console.

Rose bounded over the second Beth was out the door, a happy grin on her face, which instantly cheered him up.

"Hey! What are you looking like that for?" she joked, trying to get him to talk a bit more – he'd been unnaturally quiet since meeting Beth, and she hoped he wasn't regretting allowing her on board the TARDIS. It was great to be able to chat to another girl for a change, as opposed to a Time Lord and a Time Agent, who, although fantastic company, didn't understand and talk about certain little things she missed talking about.

"Don't worry, there's no-one in the Universe like you, Rose," the Doctor said affectionately, catching her off-guard. She accepted the compliment silently and smiled at him, moving a little closer to him and lowering her voice a notch.

"Are you okay? Only you seem a bit quiet?" He was gazing down at Rose, wondering what to say now, in front of Jack, and what to leave until they were alone, when she caught his eye and he suddenly had an irresistible urge to just kiss her. He began to lean towards her before his brain caught up with his hearts and yelled that Jack was standing about ten feet away, and probably watching with great interest. The Doctor quickly recovered, much to the disappointment of him and Rose, and whispered in her ear: "I'll tell you later," before straightening up and stepping to another part of the console.

Rose shivered as the Doctor's warm breath tickled her cheek and their bodies momentarily pressed together. Trying to quell the butterflies that rose in her stomach she turned to the console a few feet from the Doctor, where could discretely glance at him out of the corner of her eye. From across the room, Jack watched this exchange with a small grin on his face.

00

Beth stepped back into the TARDIS, back pack slung over her left shoulder, and saw Rose and the Doctor standing side by side at the control panel. Rose had one hand on the Doctor's leather-clad arm, and they were staring intently at each other, seemingly oblivious to anyone else. As Beth watched, the Doctor began to close the already small gap between them, but at the last minute obviously decided against it, and whispered something in her ear. Beth frowned, though she wasn't completely sure why, as Rose bit her lip and turned to the controls looking from time to time out of the corner of eye at the Doctor, who, unbeknown to Rose but in full view of Beth, shot discrete glances in her direction too.

00

"What the hell is that!" cried the Doctor upon sight of Beth hovering just inside the doorway. Slung over her shoulder was a large backpacker's rucksack, not unlike the one Rose had flung at him with a gleeful expression and the marvellous phrase "you're stuck with me!". Though Beth's was considerably larger.

Rose and Jack exchanged amused glances at the Doctor's shocked expression, and Rose had the distinct impression that there was about to be a speech involving him not doing domestics, or something vaguely insulting about humans and luggage, or both.

"What are you bringing that for?" the Doctor questioned, not overly kindly. He received a glare from Rose that told him to be more polite and less like himself, and an immediate straight-backed, defensive posture from Beth.

"I am bringing it because it contains clothes, documents, my laptop with everything that has any significance to me and my life, including every single photo and song I love, and, most importantly, Pip," she replied clearly and defiantly.

"What's a Pip?" Jack asked from across the room before anyone had chance to say anything. Beth allowed a small smile to cross her lips and her face relaxed as she opened the rucksack and pulled out a grey stuffed toy. It just over a foot tall, the conventional teddy bear shape, with arms and legs in the starfish position, but it had rounded ears and whiskers.

"It's a mouse," she explained. "Called Pip. And don't ask why he's called that, coz I don't remember. I've had him forever, and wherever I go, he goes. He's like my significant other, only much better, coz he's a fantastic listener and doesn't answer back," she said affectionately, carefully placing him in the bag with the top unzipped, so he was effectively looking out.

Not for the first time since they'd met her, the Doctor thought there was more to Bethany than met the eye. Her defensive reply to his question about her bag for starters. He detected a distinct sadness, even loneliness, in her voice when talking about her toy, and behind her humor there was hidden meaning to her words. He just wasn't sure what.

"Well, that's okay then," the Doctor said kindly after a moment, pausing for an instant to look at Beth again, to whom it felt like a lifetime. "Right then, he said loudly, turning back to the controls as if nothing had happened. "Jack, you stay over there, I need you to work the controls from over there, and hold that lever down all the while please. Rose, you need to hold that blue button there – " he pointed six inches to her left. " – and when I say, push this one here – " he pointed some sixteen inches to her right, next to where his left hand lay on a small wheel. "Beth?" She glanced up, hoping he wasn't about to ask her to press anything or turn something. "Hold tight!" he said gleefully. "This could be a bit bumpy!" Noticing Rose and Jack groaning and bracing themselves, she put her arms around a support column and grabbed hold her bag, feeling adrenaline beginning to pump through her body as she realised just what they were about to do.

The Doctor began pumping a lever and pushing seemingly random buttons, yelling at Jack to do the same. The central column began pulsing up and down like a steam train piston, glowing in shades of blue and green and emitting the same rushing, screeching sound as Beth had heard in the desert, not two hours previously. She held tightly to the column as the ship began rocking and shaking slightly, though it wasn't anything to knock her off her feet, and she began to wonder if maybe the Doctor wasn't exaggerating.

That was, until the Doctor yelled 'Now!' to Rose, who slammed her hand down on a weird, mauve-colored button. The TARDIS gave an almighty lurch, sending Jack and Beth to the hard floor amid some colourful language from both parties, and Rose as well, who had gone careening into the Doctor's side. He caught her around the waist, and if the landing hadn't been so violent might have succeeded in keeping them both upright. The momentum of Rose slamming into his side, however, sent them both – laughing – to the floor in a undignified heap.

Jack was the first to recover, pulling himself up and making his way over to Beth, rubbing the bruise on his leg.

"You okay?" he asked, giving her a hand up.

"'A bit bumpy'!" she asked incredulously, nursing her own bruised leg. "I'd like to see what very bumpy is!" Jack gave her a knowing look.

"Trust me, you wouldn't." He looked over to the Doctor and Rose, who were still laughing and making no attempt to get up. "Maybe we should leave them alone?" he mused in a tone of voice that suggested in a tone of voice that said he didn't want to leave them alone. Beth gave a short laugh.

"Yeah, like you'd volunteer to miss out on anything," she retorted slyly. Jack shrugged.

"Alas, you're right. Y'know, we're remarkably alike when you think about it, and…" he raised his eyebrows suggestively. Beth also raised her eyebrows, but sarcastically, in a move that was remarkably reminiscent of Rose. Or maybe all women did that?

"Don't even go there," she warned good-naturedly.

"Okay, can't blame a guy for trying," he said, surprising himself at how quickly he left it alone. Must be the Doctor and Rose's influence, he thought. Or maybe it was the sudden, strange, frightened darkness in Beth's eyes that told him to back off.

00

Their laughter subsided, and Rose realised that the Doctor still had his arm around her waist. Only it was pinned under her and rather uncomfortable. Still, she was loathe to move immediately – her head was perfectly comfortable resting against his shoulder – and it wasn't as if he was doing much to correct the fact that they were both lying in an undignified heap on the floor.

"Well, here we are," the Doctor stated after a long couple of seconds, beginning to get up and pulling Rose with him.

"And where exactly have we crashed?" she asked, casually leaning against the Doctor as she rubbed her leg. Choosing to ignore Rose's jibe at his driving skills, he glanced at the monitor, then at the trio.

"Here! Am I brilliant, or an I brilliant!" he beamed, his theory having worked perfectly. The others didn't look quite so impressed.

"Oh, sure Doc, you're a real genius," Jack said sarcastically, purposefully using the nickname he knew the Doctor hated. "So tell me, where exactly did we fall out of the sky this time? And try to be a tad more specific if it's at all possible." The Doctor, however, said nothing, merely taking Rose's hand and heading for the front door, which he flung open.

"We're exactly where the TARDIS wants us."

II

Senator Jovik's Head of Security manoeuvred his seven and a half foot bulk into the office and closed the door. Out of his thick black robes he withdrew a small electronic-looking device not too dissimilar to a pocket computer, and placed it on the desk in front of the Senator, who motioned for him to take a seat. He did so gratefully, relaxing slightly.

"I trust you come with an update about our situation, Devos?" the Senator asked curtly and to the point.

"Yes, Senator," Devos replied, keeping his voice calm and professional despite feeling excitement at the news he brought. "We received another transmission from the Space Station – we have been given orders to advance to the second stage of the plan: the overthrow you, Sir. There were three other members of the Senate present, myself and Prosolek excluded, who witnessed the transmission and are preparing to implement the overthrow tonight." The Senator sighed deeply, his fears for the last few months finally realised with the revelation of this plan.

"Does Zadri suspect anything?" Senator Jovik asked eventually. Devos shook his head.

"No, Sir. He continues to consult me regarding the proceedings, and doesn't always require that Prosolek be present as a witness – he continues to trust me. We also received confirmation that it is Zadri, from the communications officer within the Secret Security – he analysed two of the transmissions and confirmed a voice match." Devos pressed a button on the small pocket computer and brought up the evidence of a voice match for the Senator, who nodded curtly.

"Now we know why he was so desperate for the assignment," Jovik said, feeling betrayed by one he thought he knew. "I would like you to send a transmission to Engyel immediately – he is to detain Security Officer Zadri and return him, via secure transport, back here, where he be detained prior to standing trial for high treason," Jovik said briskly, preparing to draw up the necessary papers for the trial. "I trust you have handled the matter regarding Prosolek?"

"Absolutely, Sir. I sent out a Security Team as soon as we disbanded to carry out our sections of the plan – I received word a few moments ago that all mutinous members of the Senate have been incarcerated and await questioning. Prosolek and Zadri will be first, of course, Sir." Devos hesitated slightly, unsure whether to trouble the Senator with Prosolek's final words as he was being led away. Jovik sensed his uncertainty and glanced up, meeting his gaze with weary eyes.

"Is there anything else, Devos?"

"Well, there was something, Sir. Prosolek initially attempted to run – he was not at the intended post, in accordance with our instructions from Zadri, but was captured quickly," he began hastily, not wanting the Senator to believe they had failed to carry out orders sufficiently. "As he was being taken into custody, he shouted that we were too late, that you were as good as dead. Which was blatantly untrue, as his part in the plan was to assassinate you, Senator, and that was all." Devos waited nervously whilst the Senator thought over this new information.

"You are absolutely certain we haven't missed anything – that no other transmissions were sent to Prosolek or any other members of the Senate?"

"No Sir," he said adamantly. "No other members have a transmitter to receive such information in the first place. All are obtained through Ambassador Zoch's communication's officer, Grysuik, as you know, and the only four in circulation are used by you, myself, Engyel and Zoch." The Senator nodded and dismissed Devos to deal with the prisoners – he would not be questioning them tonight.

"Oh, Senator," Devos said, as he reached the door. "We have a bit of good news tonight – Grysuik has informed me that our latest Space Probe has been launched successfully, and should be sending back reports within a day." Jovik nodded, and Devos left the Senator to his thoughts.

'At least we are able to carry on with our scientific studies despite this terrible business', he thought, pouring himself a large drink. Unfortunately, contrary to his beliefs, the release of the Probe meant that the Senator's real troubles were only just beginning.

II

Captain Harva was in his lounge when he got a call from his Security Officer regarding an unauthorized landing in one of the cargo bays. He told Mahsa to seal off the area until they had determined who it was and what they wanted and was almost out of the door, when his computer bleeped. He was receiving a transmission. Deciding that the person or persons in the cargo bay could wait a little while longer, he hurried back to his desk and brought up the message.

"This is a message for Captain Adish Harva from Secret Security Officer Devos, on behalf of Senator Jovik." Harva acknowledged that it was indeed he who was receiving the message, and played it.

"I am sending one of our ships to your Space Station to pick up one of the guards stationed with the Ambassador. Zadri has to be brought back to Zaarde immediately, but unfortunately I'm afraid I can't disclose any further information. Engyel, the remaining guard, will escort him to the ship, which has been programmed to return to Zaarde, and then return to his duties as the Ambassador's guard. The Senator thanks you for your patience with this matter and apologizes for any inconvenience caused to you at this time. Officer Devos out."

Harva closed the computer and set out for the cargo bay to check that the landing was indeed made by a ship from Zaarde. He also asked one of his crew members to check for any special anomalies that meant the ship arrived before the transmission from Zaarde – if there was a problem at their end, he wanted it fixing before the Treaty signing the next day.

On his way to the cargo bay he called by Ambassador Zoch's quarters and asked him to accompany him to confirm the orders and that the ship was indeed his. Zoch declined the accompaniment of his own guards, which Harva was particularly pleased about. So far he had always had at least one of his guards with him at all times, but declining their presence was another step forward in the trust between the two species. That was, after all, one of the goals they were aiming for in the signing of the Treaty.

Zoch confirmed that the ship was indeed theirs, asking for the area to remain sealed off until Zadri was to use it. Captain Harva saw no harm in this, knowing how closely ships were guarded against anyone that might 'borrow' odd bits of information about the specific workings of a ship, especially one that might have to be used in battle. Harva set the security force level that would be used around the ship under the watchful eye of Zoch and they made their way back to the guest level of the Space Station.

Unbeknown to anyone aboard, there were two unauthorized landings that occurred simultaneously in adjacent cargo bays, one of which went undetected. As the force field descended around the cargo bay and the Ambassador and Captain headed back to level three, a blue box was standing only a few meters away.


	5. Questions and Answers

Title: A Kind Of Destiny

Author: trustno1, aka trustno1987, aka me!

Spoilers: Anything up to and including Jack, if you've been living on Uranus ;-)

Rating: T (?)

Pairing: Nine/Rose

Disclaimer: Surprisingly enough, the Doctor, Rose, Jack and the general idea of Doctor Who does not belong to me. This story, however, does, as do any original characters within it, so © Lindsay.

CHAPTER 4 – QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

"Do you try to be annoying on purpose, or does it come naturally?" Jack asked irritably from behind the Doctor and Rose.

"Time Lords aren't annoying, we just have a superior humor that your human brains can't comprehend so think it's just annoying," the Doctor said nonchalantly, sneaking a smile at Rose who giggled despite him effectively insulting her at the same time.

"Where, precisely, has the TARDIS landed us? And if you say 'here' or 'where she wanted' or anything that isn't sector, vector and system specific, I'm gonna throttle you, I swear to God!" Jack said, pushing past Rose and the Doctor, into what looked like a cargo area, if the enormous room and various metal-looking boxes were any indication.

"Is he usually this tetchy?" Beth asked of Jack, joining them all in the weakly lit room.

"He's in withdrawal," Rose whispered conspiratorially, letting go of the Doctor's hand so he could wander around studying various panels on the walls.

"From what?" Beth whispered back, glancing at Jack with a nervous frown, which he returned with another annoyed frown.

"Sex."

"I am not!"

"He's from the 51st Century, when they have sex with anything if it stands still long enough," Rose said with a smirk.

"I resent that! And I've not slept with you… yet," Jack retorted, raising his eyebrows and grinning.

"Not for a lack of trying." Rose said at the same time as the Doctor shouted from the far end of the room:

"Should bloody well think not!"

"You're from the 51st Century?" Beth asked, still trying to process everything that everyone had said in a short amount of time.

"Yep! Met these two during the Second World War though…" Jack began, but was interrupted by the Doctor before he could elaborate and Beth could ask one of the hundred questions currently circulating her brain.

"I thought you wanted to know where we were?"

"Why, you figured it out yet?" He received a cold glare for that, and wisely decided to shut up and behave for the time being.

"We are currently about 90,000 light years from Earth, on a Space Station that is situated in the Cynus Arm of the Milky Way, and which belongs to the Alerik – a race from the planet Edymn which is about ten light years that way," the Doctor said smugly, pointing to the left of the TARDIS.

"We're the other side of the galaxy?" Beth asked, walking over to where the Doctor stood. He nodded, gauging her reaction. "Have we… gone back in time or anything?"

"Nope, it's still –" he consulted his watch " – 11:47 pm in Nevada, on October 2nd – the day we left."

"We're right at the end of the arm, aren't we? Near the edge of the galaxy?" Beth asked, trying to picture a map of the Milky Way in her head to overcome the knowledge that they were now 90,000 light years from where they were a few minutes ago, and to stop her brain from working out that if they could see their solar system (which was impossible with no instruments) they wouldn't see it as they left it, they'd see the light from 90,00 years ago. At least, she thought that was right.

"Yeah, how did you know that?" the Doctor asked, impressed.

"The Milky Way is about 100,000 light years across, we (as in Earth) are near one end, so 90,000 light years away must be near the edge," she reasoned, sticking a large arrow with 'you are here' written on it on her mental map at the point where she guessed they were, to stop her thinking too deeply about anything else.

Rose raised her eyebrows at the Doctor, who looked as impressed as she felt. Beth was taking all this in her stride, and Rose thought it had something to do with her just accepting things as they came.

The Doctor walked over to a large, white wall opposite where the TARDIS had landed. He whipped out the sonic screwdriver, and a few seconds and whirrs later, a faint, tinny, grinding could be heard throughout the room, as the wall parted to reveal one gigantic window.

Jack nodded appreciatively and uttered a small 'wow'; Rose gasped and joined the Doctor, who was smiling and watching Beth. She was walking towards the window, giving the impression of a person in a trance, such was the fluid movement as she moved and wide, unblinking eyes. She had waited her whole life to see a sight such as the one in front of her – the window was so big and so clear that it was as though there were nothing there at all, as if she were standing in the middle of space itself. The sky was a deep inky black, a perfect canvas for the billions of stars and planets to rest upon. They were the brightest Beth had ever seen in her life, and filled the sky to bursting – in some places she could hardly make out the black of space, so dense were the stars and nebulae and planets that made up the Milky Way galaxy. She was so completely captivated by the sheer beauty of the sky, that it was a few moments before she realised something was missing.

Rose was dividing her time between gazing out of the window and watching the emotions flash across Beth's face as she stared at the stars. She was looking in awe at the huge band of stars that was the rest of the Milky Way in a way Rose supposed she did when the Doctor took her to see Earth from above, when a sudden frown creased her forehead, and she stared more intently outside.

"I can't see Orion's Belt," Beth whispered after almost a minute of intense staring, during which time all three exchanged nervous glances. "Or Ursa Major. Or Pleiades, or Sirius, or Polaris, or Aquarius," she reeled off, swinging round to face them, a look of panic on her face that Rose recognised instantly. Leaving the Doctor's side she went to stand with Beth, placing a comforting hand on her arm as she returned her eyes to the window, frantically searching for something familiar.

"There's nothing. I can't see any of them. Nothing familiar at all. No maps, nothing – " she cut herself off mid-sentence and forced herself to take a deep breath and stop thinking and stop panicking. As long as she stopped thinking deeply about where she was, and what the hell she'd gotten herself into this time, then she'd be okay. Taking another breath, Beth began to feel calmer, and when she looked out of the window this time, she made her brain register the fact that there were billions of beautiful stars unlike anything she'd ever seen before, but didn't let it think about what that meant. It was incredibly pretty, and that was it.

Beth turned to Rose, the Doctor and Jack, smiling at them.

"That's one incredible view," she said calmly and as normally as she spoke to them on the TARDIS, giving away no suggestion that barely a minute ago she was panicking. Turning away quickly so as she didn't see the looks she knew the trio would share, Beth gazed contemplatively out at the galaxy beyond.

"Rose," the Doctor whispered, motioning for her to follow him. He silently asked Jack to go stand with Beth, who complied and made his way across the room.

"Did you see that?" Rose whispered back as they entered the TARDIS. The Doctor closed the door to and nodded.

"She's awfully good at pretending there's nothing wrong, isn't she? There's nothing wrong with panicking – we just whisked her across the entire Milky Way an hour after we materialised in front of her in a Police Box, she should be allowed to panic a little bit!" the Doctor said, sitting on a couch. Rose joined him, nodding her agreement.

"I did – I had a moment when I realised I'd just travelled five billion years into the future with an alien I'd met less than 24 hours before and thought 'what in God's name are you doing?' But I just yelled at you, got it out of my system." The Doctor smiled at the memory, but it didn't reach his eyes. "She did it before, when we were playing on the piano," Rose remembered suddenly.

"Oh?"

"Yeah. She started playing something – it was beautiful, she's a good pianist – and I could tell it was making her so sad. She just stopped, right in the middle of the piece, said she couldn't remember any more, but I think she was just afraid to keep going." Rose leant back on the couch with a sigh, her head resting casually on the Doctor's shoulder, as she thought about Beth. "And she seems lonely. I might be way off here, but she's not very old, she was in the middle of the Nevada desert, with a laptop and stuffed toy for company – either she loves solitude, or there's something else we aren't seeing," Rose decided. For some reason she felt protective of Bethany, despite having met her only a couple of hours ago. She knew that the Doctor felt similarly, and that he wasn't telling her something. She turned her head on his shoulder to look at him, and found he was staring into space, thinking hard about something.

"What is it, Doctor?"

"I didn't set the wrong co-ordinates when we landed in Nevada," he said eventually. Rose stared up at him, wondering where this was going, because he certainly hadn't brought her here to defend his piloting skills.

"So, what, the TARDIS took us there for a particular reason, like when we landed in Cardiff instead of Naples?" she asked.

"Yeah, like that," he replied, looking down at her affectionately.

"Why would the TARDIS want us there, and here? Why does she need Beth?" Rose asked, surprising the Doctor again with her astuteness.

"I recognised her when we landed. I couldn't put my finger on it at first," the Doctor said, not wanting to launch directly into a huge explanation at first. Rose nodded. She knew there was something vaguely wrong when they landed, not least because the Doctor hardly spoke a word whilst they were there.

"It was the name that threw me at first – her maiden name, Montgomery. That's not the first thing I remembered, if you call it remembering." Now Rose was beginning to get a little lost, and she swivelled in her seat so her head now rested on her arm that balanced on the back of the couch, and she could see the Doctor more clearly. This didn't help matters too much, as he continued to stare forwards, as if trying to look into Time itself, hoping that would help him explain what he wanted to.

"It's kind of like when we met Harriet Jones, and I kept asking if she was famous, 'cos I thought I recognised her." Rose nodded to show she recalled the memory. "Well, I didn't properly figure out why I knew her until then end of all that drama, just before we left, and I'm still fuzzy on some details with Beth." He turned to Rose now, eyes bright, face determined. "She's supposed to save Earth," he said simply. Rose stared back, feeling confused with his explanation – they were on a Space Station at the other side of the Milky Way, how was she supposed to save Earth from here? Or did that come later; was she supposed to travel with them for a while first?

"Um, I don't quite get you – when's she supposed to save Earth? And what from? Why can't you do it?" Rose asked, apprehension creeping into her heart.

"I'm not sure, that part's a little unclear – I have the past, present and future of everything inside of my head, it can get a little crowded at times," he almost snapped, and Rose frowned, silencing the question that was on her lips. "All I can… see, I suppose is the best way to put it, is that Beth saves Earth from being destroyed and…" He paused, trying to grasp the thought that was floating just out of reach. "First Contact!" he cried suddenly, grabbing the whisper of recollection with both hands. "First Contact on Earth – Beth is the reason that happens, which is incredibly important for the human race."

00

Jack was gazing out of the window, wondering what to talk to Beth about. Since the Doctor and Rose had retreated to the TARDIS a few minutes ago, no doubt for the Doctor to tell Rose about why they were here, Beth hadn't spoken a word, but continued to stare out of the window. She appeared calmer now though, and instead of looking out with a mixture of fear and apprehension, she was more relaxed and interested in studying what was outside.

After another minute or so of silence, Beth saved Jack from thinking of a conversation starter.

"I've always loved the stars y'know," she said, her voice steady and warm. "I never close the curtains in my bedroom, or wherever I'm sleeping so I can see them when I go to sleep; they're beautiful aren't they?"

Jack returned his eyes to the window, and looked out at the stars. Despite living among them for most of his life, he'd rarely taken the time to properly appreciate the beauty of the Universe – he'd usually been more interested in other kinds of beauty that the Universe had to offer.

"Yeah, they are," he replied genuinely.

"I always wanted to go into space," she continued, still looking forwards. "Only I wanted it to be like Star Trek or Farscape or some other sci-fi programme that I'm obsessed with," she said with a small, embarrassed laugh, glancing at Jack to see he had a rather blank look on his face. "Oh, course, I forgot, you're from the future! Well, they're just T.V. programmes – Star Trek's about the crew of a spaceship, set in the future… well, ours anyway. There's five different series' though, so it's a bit confusing. And Farscape is kinda the same thing, but about an astronaut from my time getting pulled into a wormhole and pushed out in a completely different part of the Universe," she reeled off quickly, much to the amusement of Jack who still didn't have a clue what either of the programmes were. "Anyway, I wanted to do something like that, go somewhere totally different. I always knew there were aliens, and when you three landed in front of me…" She broke off, grinning, and Jack smiled back.

"Bet it was still a shock though, us landing there, then bringing you here?" Jack prodded gently.

"A little, yeah, but like I told Rose, I've gotten used to just accepting things I have no hope of understanding – like that ship being bigger on the inside," she replied nonchalantly, but Jack could swear there was more to it than that.

"What kinda things?"

"Y'know, usual things; the Universe, life in general, higher maths…" she finished with a laugh that she hoped didn't sound too forced.

"Well, you're getting to do something different now," Jack said after an uncomfortable silence where Beth didn't seem to want to meet his eyes.

"Yeah, this is just fantastic. I keep expecting myself to wake up or something, 'cos I haven't been this happy in ages…" she broke off with a grimace, scalding herself for letting that slip. The last thing she wanted to do right now was bring all that up, and complain to Jack, Rose and the Doctor. However, Jack didn't look as though he wanted to leave that alone.

"Why? Does it have something to do with why you were in the middle of the desert?" he asked, knowing he was prying but wanting to find out what was wrong.

"I'm on a kind of vacation," Beth said evasively. "Travelling around America, working where I can get it – I have been for about a year now."

"'A kind of vacation'?" Jack questioned, as Beth squirmed under his gaze, squaring her shoulders again.

"A vacation from life in general. I finished Uni about sixteen, eighteen months ago, found a job here but it didn't start for a year, which suited me fine, and I travelled around," she said, deciding she would refuse to answer any more questions – it was nothing to do with him anyway, she thought angrily.

"Okay," Jack said, knowing he was getting very close to crossing a line here. Giving his luck one final push, he asked, almost timidly, something that had been bothering him for a while. "Why did you look scared when I was flirting with you?"

"Bad experience," she replied simply and sharply, and he knew the conversation was over.

After another long silence, during which Beth wandered around the cargo bay and Jack stood at the window watching her, she returned to stand next to Jack, looking as if she desperately wanted to ask him a question.

"So, you're from the 51st Century?" she asked. Jack nodded, smiling. "Have all the continents shifted yet?" Jack looked blank, and Beth blushed.

"The continents? You're meeting a human from 3000 years in the future, who has travelled all over space and time, had hundreds of death-defying adventures, and you want to know if the continents have moved!" he asked incredulously. Beth laughed, and shrugged.

"I was a Geography student, sorry," though she didn't sound remotely apologetic. "How about you tell me what Earth looks like in your time, then you can tell me some of your favorite adventures?" she said sweetly, sitting on the ledge next to the window and patting a space next to her. Theatrically rolling his eyes, Jack sat down, and began relating some of his best missions to his captive audience.

00

Rose was still confused. Okay, so Beth was – is – supposed to save the Earth from destruction and instigate First Contact for the human race. But why her? She knew she'd known Beth for a ridiculously short amount of time, but she seemed, well, normal; no strange mind-reading gift, no ability to predict the future, no reason to think she isn't exactly as she appeared – a young woman travelling alone in the middle of Nevada. And the protectiveness Rose had felt earlier returned. This girl had been minding her own business when they'd materialised in front of her – true, she'd responded far better than any of them would have expected – and then, within a couple of hours had been taken around a ship that defied all logical laws of physics and taken to the other end of the Galaxy. Beth hadn't asked for any of this, and now the Doctor was expecting her to save Earth and bring about First Contact in a mission that, knowing them, would probably be highly dangerous.

The Doctor turned his head and saw Rose staring at a point over his shoulder, and hard, thoughtful expression on her face. It reminded him of an argument in Cardiff, 1869, about whether Gwyneth should be the one to save Earth from the Gelth – she had been fiercely protective of the girl then, and he thought he'd known why at the time. But if she was going to be this defensive about a girl who was most certainly her equal, he wondered if he wasn't wrong about Cardiff. Or if he just didn't understand Rose as well as he thought at times.

"So, why is it Beth that's supposed to save Earth? What has she done that means she has to be the one to do this?" Rose asked eventually, her voice harder than she knew it should have been.

"I don't know, she just is. We can't change history, Rose, she's meant to do this," he explained patiently.

"But it hasn't happened yet! We wouldn't be changing anything!" Rose cried, anger beginning to bubble up inside for no apparent reason.

"Rose, whether you like it or not, she is meant to do this – you can't make decisions on her behalf, especially if she doesn't know about this," he said pointedly, and Rose turned fully in her seat to face him, her eyes bright and angry.

"You aren't gonna tell her this!" she practically shouted. "If she's gonna be saving the world doesn't she have a right to know what she's letting herself in for?"

The Doctor sighed, knowing what Rose was referring to. It seemed that almost all their efforts to prevent the untimely destruction of Earth, or protection of another planet or race, ended in death – except maybe the incident in World War Two with Nancy. He hated it, but that was the way the Universe worked, most unfortunately – innocent people sacrificed their lives to the greater good, and none knew this more than the Doctor.

"I don't think it would make any difference; she's strong, determined – she's like you in many ways," he replied calmly, hoping Rose would try to understand.

"It's just, I've only just met her, and we get on so well, and now you're telling me she's got to go be a hero and probably die because of it," Rose said bitterly, even though a part of her knew that the Doctor was right, and Beth would likely want to help anyway.

The Doctor decided not to say anything, instead letting Rose mull over her thoughts, and come to the conclusion on her own. He did take her hand, almost gingerly, still worried she might yell at him further, but she just sighed and settled back into the chair, albeit closer to him than before.

"You must think I'm so selfish," she said eventually, in a small voice. When he didn't reply she elaborated: "I almost destroyed Earth and killed you when I tried to save my dad, and now I don't want Beth to save Earth because I've just met her and think it's unfair to her."

The Doctor squeezed her hand, feeling a twinge of guilt. At first, he might have agreed with her – human emotions, especially Rose's, were so completely different to his; to him, though it was upsetting that a person or persons died, he had to think of the greater good, how many people that one person could save. Deep down, he knew this detachment was only partly to do with the fact he was an alien. Destroying Gallifrey, the Daleks, and countless other worlds and races to save the others was the biggest sacrifice of all, incomprehensible to anyone other than him. Whilst he hated that not everyone lives all of the time, he sometimes felt that they paled into insignificance beside what he had done, and usually regretted the thought afterwards. But with Rose travelling with him, her humanity seemed to have rubbed off on him, and he felt himself feeling more sympathetic towards her feelings, and understood why she had more difficulty accepting people had to make sacrifices.

"You are one of the most selfless people I've met," the Doctor said gently. "You care so much about others, even if they don't deserve it," he said, casting his mind back to when she first saw the Dalek. "I know I yelled at you when you saved your dad, but I shouldn't have; I should've known you'd do that, because you're just like that; you see someone to save and you save them. It's what makes you the best, and why I wouldn't settle for anyone else." He chanced a glance down at her then, and found her gazing back up at him with a shy smile.

"Thanks," she said sincerely, resting her head against his arm again as she gave him a half-hug. "And I'm sorry for yelling." The Doctor brushed it off and stood up, with Rose following suit.

"Think we should go rescue Beth from Jack?" he asked as they made their way towards the door. Rose chuckled and agreed, as they stepped back into the cargo bay to hear laughter coming from the direction of the window. Beth was almost bent double laughing at some story Jack was retelling, with much gesticulation and enthusiasm. The Doctor and Rose grinned to each other, and went over to join them, both hoping that this would prove to be one of the few times when no-one need die in their quest to save Earth yet again.


	6. On Board

Title: A Kind Of Destiny

Author: trustno1, aka trustno1987, aka me!

Spoilers: Anything up to and including Jack, if you've been living on Uranus ;-)

Rating: T

Pairing: Nine/Rose

Disclaimer: Surprisingly enough, the Doctor, Rose, Jack and the general idea of Doctor Who does not belong to me. This story, however, does, as do any original characters within it, so © Lindsay.

AN: I am currently on the coast of Ghana, West Africa, and it is difficult to get to an internet cafe with an internet connectionthat's actually up and running, so I apologize profusely for the ridiculous length of time y'all have had to wait for this installment, and I apologize in advance for any delays in the future - I'm here until the beginning of July (and it's fantastic!) So, here it is, with many 'sorrys!' attached...

* * *

CHAPTER 5 - ON BOARD 

The transmission device in front of Engyel gave two short, impatient beeps to indicate there was an incoming message. Hastily checking the living quarters for any sign of Zadri, Engyel picked up the transceiver and hurried into a small, empty room. The door closed with a soft whoosh, and he was plunged into momentary blackness that didn't bother him in the slightest. After pushing a few buttons, the small, flickering hologram of Devos was projected from the device, casting a ghostly green glow around the room.

"This is an urgent message from Senator Jovik for Security Guard Engyel," the tinny voice of Devos proclaimed, pausing so that Engyel could type in the personal password that would allow him to continue listening to the message.

"The Secret Security Service for Senator Jovik has reason to believe that Security Guard Zadri is behind the scheme to overthrow the Senator. We have apprehended those on Zaarde who were involved in the plot, but we have overwhelming evidence that implicates Zadri as the ringleader in all of this. A Security transport ship has been dispatched and will be with you by the end of the day – you are to detain Zadri immediately until this time, then send him back to Zaarde in the transport ship where he will be questioned further. You are to remain with Ambassador Zoch until the Treaty signing is complete, then return in the vessel you arrived in. The Senator and I would like this executed sensitively please, Engyel; you do not need to inform Captain Harva of the full details of Zadri's arrest, only the information that is strictly necessary. I expect a full report when you have detained him. Security Officer Devos out."

The green hologram disappeared with a static fizz and the room was black once more, and filled with the noisy shallow breathing of Engyel as he ran over the content of the message in his head one more time. Finally, he took one deep breath, expelling it in a sudden, harsh burst that resembled more of a growl. He opened the door and stepped out into the dim, humid room, listening for any sound to indicate the Ambassador was awake or that Zadri had returned from his break. When he heard neither, he strode towards the entrance door, reaching into his robes for his weapon as he went.

II

At almost the exact same moment as Engyel received the transmission from Devos, Zadri was receiving a live transmission from a communication device that only two others knew he had access to: Ambassador Zoch, and Grysuik, Zoch's communications officer on Zaarde.

"Emergency transmission for Zadri from Grysuik." A lifesize hologram flickered into existence in front of a surprised Zadri, casting a green glow around the observation section, not unlike that which was currently lighting a small room in the Ambassador's quarters.

"I'm here," Zadri said, casting a quick, furtive glance around. "You should be more careful, anyone could've been walking about," he added sourly. The holographic Grysuik waved his hand dismissively.

"That's the least of your worries at the moment," he said, and flickered a little more. "At this very moment, Engyel is receiving a message – recorded, not live – from Devos, telling him to arrest you immediately and put you on a prison ship to be taken straight back home, where you will stand trial for treason," he said darkly. "They think you are the one behind the plot to overthrow the Senator."

Zadri was momentarily silent with disbelief, and stood staring at the hologram, which was flickering alarmingly, throwing huge, distracting shadows about the room.

"But … but the Ambassador … he's the one that sends the orders! How can they think I did it!" he asked, raising his voice before realising that Zoch's quarters weren't too far away.

"Because the fools still believe that Zoch is trustworthy, and I wasn't about to correct them," Grysuik replied contemptuously. "Now, if you'll start acting like a soldier, I'll tell you why I'm sending this rather illegal transmission to save your hide." Zadri nodded curtly, already berating himself for his behaviour, and prepared to listen. "Prepare yourself for a confrontation with Engyel. He won't be interested in listening to you – that wasn't in his orders and isn't in his nature, so don't bother attempting to talk. I suggest you try to disable him as quickly as possible, before Captain Harva or some other officer discovers you." Zadri shuffled uncomfortably, feeling more than a little irritated by the fact that a communications officer was giving him, a soldier, orders. He said nothing, however, knowing the risk Grysuik was taking by sending such a transmission with the Senator's Secret Service most likely breathing down his neck.

"Also, tell the Ambassador that the probe has been deployed successfully, and if it hasn't already docked, it will be doing so very shortly. The codes to arm it and ensure it's correct detonation time and location will be sent to your transceiver … " He paused, did something with the black device he was holding in his hand, and Zadri's identical device gave a short beep. "… now. I'm going to interfere with the satellites around Zaarde, prevent any long-range communication for the next day – that should be enough time to carry out the operation without unwanted interference."

"I'll let the Ambassador know. Thank you," Zadri said politely and business-like. The hologram flickered again.

"Good luck. Grysuik out." The green glow in front of Zadri promptly vanished, and the room was once again plunged into semi-darkness, lit solely by the millions of pinpricks of light that were far off stars in the vast regions of space.

And as Engyel was withdrawing his service weapon and heading down the corridor, Zadri was replacing the transmission device and drawing his own weapon from inside his robes, ready to intercept the security guard.

II

Down a secluded side corridor on the guest level of Captain Harva's Space Station, Zadri and Engyel met each other running in opposite directions. Zadri had just enough time to think how incredibly lucky it was that Grysuik managed to contact him this quickly, before Engyel collided painfully with him, knocking him backwards where he nearly lost his grip on his weapon. Almost immediately, the security guard was on top of him, cold metal butt of the weapon pressed against his neck.

"You're under arrest for high treason, you despicable son of a bitch," Engyel snarled, his eyes flashing dangerously,breathinglikea predatory animal hunting down its quarry. Zadri would not have needed telling by Grysuik that conversation with Engyel would be completely futile – he could almost feel the anger radiating from his body, which was still pinning him to the floor. However, it was only the shock of colliding with Engyel that kept Zadri underneath him. Knowing that whilst anger sometimes fuelled a strength that gave a person an advantage in battle situations, it also clouded the senses, and Zadri had no doubt that keeping a clear head would give him far more of an advantage when fighting Engyel.

Whilst Engyel ranted on about disloyalty and betrayal and pressed the weapon harder against his neck, Zadri noticed that almost all of Engyel's weight rested on the arm that was restraining his own arm and hand (the one holding his weapon) to the floor. In one swift movement, he brought his leg upwards, knocking Engyel's supporting arm from under him, causing him to crash forwards onto Zadri. This didn't worry him in the slightest, as he now had leverage with both arms to push the other guard off him, slamming him against a wall and dislodging the weapon, which skidded across the floor. With a guttural roar of anger, Engyel tried to lunge for it.

Zadri was too quick for him. With barely a thought he fired his weapon at Engyel. A bright blue beam of light hit him squarely in the chest and he fell heavily to the floor, unconscious. Pushing him roughly onto his back with his foot, Zadri now wondered where the hell he was going to stow this useless guard.

An obnoxious grin appeared on his face, contorting it into an even uglier sight than it already was, as an idea crept into his mind that was just perfect. Checking that Engyel was still unconscious, Zadri brusquely lifted his head off the ground and removed the large battle helmet, replacing it with his own and donning Engyel's. With some effort, he managed to haul him upright, and began to drag him towards the cargo bay, where Zoch had only just finished telling him that – as Grysuik said – the Space Probe was indeed waiting.

II

Ambassador Zoch began to stir in his sleeping quarters, as the lights gradually rose in brightness as programmed. Within about thirty seconds he was awake and alert, climbing off the bed and heading to the living area to see which guard was currently on shift. To his immense relief, he sensed Zadri as he entered the larger room, and had no sense of Engyel being about anywhere.

He received a shock, then, as the imposing figure situated in the centre of the room turned to face him, and he saw Engyel's battle helmet, not Zadri's.

"It's okay, it's me, Sir," came the gruff voice from beneath the helmet, before Zoch could quiz him.

"Well what the hell are you doing wearing _his_ battle armour, Zadri?" Zoch snapped harshly, daring his guard to come up with a decent answer as to why he would dare wear any attire of that worthless guard. To his horror, a strong feeling of joy and accomplishment radiated from Zadri as though a switch had been suddenly flicked. Grabbing Zadri's arm roughly, he forced him into a chair and stood towering angrily over him.

"What the hell are you doing! Control your emotions, Guard! You know how empathic this race is, and how important it is that they remain ignorant to us! If you cannot restrain yourself you will be confined to quarters for the remainder of this mission!" Zoch shouted. To his relief, Zadri got a better hold of his emotions, but didn't seem phased by the severe reprimand he just received, and sat as straight backed as ever, eyes glinting excitedly.

"I'm very sorry Sir, it won't happen again," he said, and Zoch noticed for the first time that he was breathless, as though he'd been running or fighting, and was instantly curious. "But I have some news, Ambassador, some very good news."

II

Captain Harva strode down towards the guest corridor to the room where Ambassador Zoch was currently residing. The final stage of the Treaty was to take place this morning – or what counted as morning on a Space Station – and he was going to escort the Ambassador and his guards up to the first floor for a demonstration, before the Treaty would be signed by both parties, and technologies exchanged.

He felt a nervous excitement as he neared the room. They were on the precipice of a historic moment for the Alerik people, and he was at the forefront – Harva and his crew were the first to encounter the Apalka, and though he tried to be modest about it, it was all down to his work regarding wormhole technology. After graduating top of his class on Edymn, the past five years of his life had been spent on the Space Station, researching steadily into wormholes, and how to manipulate them to their own advantage. They had explored thousands of light years with the aid of wormhole technology, far more than they would be able to using only spacecraft. Harva had been commissioned by the Chief of Space Exploration to further his research on the Space Station, so they could search for uninhabited planets where they could set up a colony, in addition to the four already in existence on planets other than their own. It was during one of these searches, using wormhole technology to send a probe almost 15 thousand light years away (a relatively short hop, considering the range of the technology), where they discovered Zaarde. A ship was dispatched, and within next to no time it seemed, preparations were under way for the signing of the Treaty, on Harva's Space Station, no less.

Which was why Captain Harva was determined that this demonstration of the capabilities of their wormhole technology was to transpire without a hitch. He had been planning it ever since he knew the Treaty Signing was to take place on the Space Station: a brief lecture on the science behind the technology would precede the actual demonstration; they would then go up to the next floor – Deck One – where they would manipulate a wormhole and send a probe through. It would be a relatively short journey of about five thousand light years, just to illustrate to the Ambassador how the technology works, and then Harva would share any readings that the probe found. And then, well, they'd create another day for the history books, he thought happily, turning a corner and spotting the Ambassador's door.

He had no idea that the history they'd be making that day was for some very different reasons.

II

Zadri had scarcely finished relating the happenings of the last hour with an almost feverish excitement, when they both stiffened, and glanced towards the main door. As the intercom to the room beeped to inform its occupants there was someone waiting outside, Zoch and Zadri moved swiftly from standing huddled in the centre of the room, to Zoch being seated importantly behind his desk, and Zadri standing to one side, like the dutiful guard. Lazily, the Ambassador called 'enter', and the door slid quietly open to reveal Captain Harva, in an impressive military-type uniform, waiting at the threshold.

"Ah, Captain Harva, good day!" Zoch said genially, standing up and moving forwards.

"Ambassador," Harva nodded, trying yet again to sense any kind of emotion, and meeting the brick wall. Although … was that excitement on the Ambassador's part? He couldn't quite tell, though if it was indeed excitement, Harva wouldn't have been the least bit surprised; in fact he would have been very pleased to be sensing anything at all from this species, who, up until now were not easily read, and he found it incredibly difficult to trust anyone when he hadn't the first clue of their intentions.

"So, if you're ready, we can head upstairs and begin the demonstration and signing," Harva said, gesturing to the open door. Zoch nodded and waved over Zadri, who stood silently to his left.

"My guard would like to accompany me to the demonstration – he's very interested in making further advancements to our technological status on Zaarde, and this wormhole technology is a great achievement," Zoch said mildly, watching Harva closely but knowing that he'd allow Zadri along; he was that kind of man.

"Of course – I had assumed you would want at least one of your guards present at the signing in any case, so that's not a problem," Harva assured as they headed into the corridor. "Did your other guard – Zadri, is it? – wish to observe?"

"No, he's busy with our ship – the one that just arrived in your cargo area – making preparations, and so on, so he's… incapacitated, at the moment, you might say," Zoch said mildly, delighted to find that Harva had no idea Zadri was standing beside him, and that their battle helmets were incredibly important for identification purposes. He shot a sly glance in Zadri's direction that, had Harva caught sight and sense of, he would undoubtedly have assigned an extra couple of his own security staff to the observation area.

II

The presentation of the technology went off without a hitch, and both Captain Harva and Ambassador Zoch were very pleased with their outcomes for each respective individual. As the small party – consisting of the Ambassador, Zadri, Captain Harva, Mahsa Kyanee -Harva's Security Guard, and Strijda Dar, his First Officer – ascended to Deck One, Zoch hung back from the main group, whispering hurriedly to Zadri for a minute before handing him something small and thin from his dark cloak. When Kyanee glanced around at their guests, all she saw, heard and, to an extent felt, was the Ambassador and Engyel engaged in animated conversation about the technology they had just witnessed.

II

Jack had finally finished retelling one of his more daring (and definitely adult-rated) escapades to Beth, and Rose and the Doctor when they returned from the TARDIS, and the Doctor was now steering them all towards the cargo bay doors, eager to begin exploring the ship.

"Right, well the TARDIS didn't bring us here to listen to you relate tales of your complete incompetence, Jack," the Doctor said, though Beth swore she saw a glint in his eyes that suspiciously resembled mirth as he said it.

"Why did it bring us here then?" Beth asked, walking beside the trio as they headed across the dull, expansive room.

"She," the Doctor corrected, "She brought us here for the same reason she usually does." Glancing at both Rose and Jack, Beth learnt no more from this cryptic remark, other than the fact that their expressions were curiously blank, giving her no helpful idea of what this 'usual reason' was.

"Um, no offence, but I've been with you all of, what, two hours? That kinda comment really doesn't help me do a little thing we humans call understand," Beth said clearly and sarcastically, addressing the Doctor the entire time. She had a sneaking suspicion that he was somehow preventing the others from elaborating on his less than informative comments, as they had been doing for her so far. And she intended to find out exactly what that was – no-one took her all the way across the galaxy just to hold out on her; she'd had enough of that back on Earth.

With a sigh that sounded more resigned than exasperated, the Doctor paused and turned to Beth, blue eyes boring into her dark brown ones. For the first time, he noticed how exhausted she looked; dark circles surrounded her eyes, giving Beth the air of someone who hasn't had a decent night sleep in a long, long time. Her face, though tanned seemed paler in this light, and the weak lighting of the cargo baythrew harsh shadows about her face, giving it an angular appearance, as if it were carved crudely from stone, and wasn't at all flattering. Her eyes remained bright, however, shining out from their hollows at him defiantly.

"The usual reason for us going anywhere really, is that there's trouble – big trouble. You can handle a bit of an adventure, can't you?" he asked, with his trademark grin that he hoped made it to his eyes. Despite his light tone, it was a vitally important and serious question. He knew instinctively that Beth would say 'yes', and want to leap headfirst into an adventure; it was obvious from the way she had greeted them. But he had an obligation to her, to any one of his companions, to let them know what they were letting themselves into by agreeing to go with him. He did with Rose, answering simply when she asked if it would be that dangerous all the time.

But asking Beth outright like this had another advantage, in that Rose would see that he wasn't pressuring her into doing something she didn't want to; that it was all her own choice.

"Are you kiddin'?" Beth asked, a real smile lighting up her face and banishing the harsh shadows. "I am well known back home for my complete disregard for personal safety in the quest for a decent adventure – why did you think I was out in the middle of no-where by my self?" she asked, glad to see all three grinning with her.

"Well, in that case, we have a ship to explore, since the TARDIS had conveniently forgotten to direct us to any danger," the Doctor said, though he remained in one place with a thoughtful expression on his face. The others waited patiently whilst he ignored his own advice.

"Right! Jack, have you still got your psychic paper on you?"

"Always." Beth began to ask what that was but Jack turned to her. "I'll tell you in a minute."

"Beth, you go with Jack and check out the floor above us; if you run into anyone just say that we're passing through, or having a pit-stop or something." Jack nodded.

"Will whoever owns this ship have seen humans before?" Beth asked the Doctor, finding it hard to believe that you could just land on a ship and not have anyone think it was suspicious.

"Not humans, no, but the race that own this Space Station look very similar to humans, as do a few other races on this ship. Two or three definitely don't, but that's another matter. Now, Rose and I'll check this floor and the one below, see if there's anything interesting happening. You both got your mobiles on?" Rose and Jack nodded in agreement, and Beth began to feel slightly overwhelmed at the Doctor's lightning fast speech, and the fact he just asked about mobiles. Did he actually mean phones?

"Um… mobiles?" She questioned. "They actually work?"

"Yeah, with a bit of jiggery-pokery," Rose grinned, shooting a glance out of the corner of her eye at the Doctor.

"Yeah, er, just stick close to Jack, I'll figure something out with your phone later. And Jack can answer any of your questions, 'cause we're wasting time here," the Doctor said in his typical fashion, hurrying them towards the door now. Rose just rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath.

"Guess I'll see you two later," she said to Beth and Jack. "You; behave, and keep and eye on Beth," she said with a smirk and knowing look in Jack's direction. Jack frowned indignantly. "Beth; have fun, and keep an eye on him, would you?" Beth grinned, said she certainly would, and pulled a complaining Jack ( - "I resent that, Rose Tyler!" - ) out of the sliding doors and into a wide, brightly lit corridor.

The doors closed, leaving the Doctor and Rose standing side by side. The Doctor looked down at Rose's concerned face and offered her his hand. She in turn offered him a small smile and took his hand willingly, threading their fingers together tightly.

"I know, I know, I'm being too human, worrying about something I shouldn't, and not about the important things, and that Beth actually wanted to come," Rose said with an annoyed sigh that was directed as much at her as it was towards the Doctor.

"She'll be fine, Rose. I promise," he said gently, leading her towards another door set in a wall to their right that Rose hadn't noticed.

"How can you be sure though?" At his patient look, she shook her head, realising how unlike herself she sounded, and forcing herself to stop being ridiculous.

"'Cause I'm me! And I'm – "

"Fantastic!" Rose chorused, smiling at his infectious good humor, and the fact that they were yet again, doing what they did best – exploring, and getting into trouble. Giving his hand a loving squeeze, they headed down another corridor towards what appeared to be an elevator.

"Exactly," he said quietly, calling the elevator and desperately hoping he really was this time.

II


End file.
